Plaintiff Tameka Barnes is African American. She began her employment with Defendant Nationwide in 2002, working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2007, Nationwide transferred Barnes to Nationwide’s Trial Division Office in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania to work as a legal secretary. In November 2012, Barnes applied for, and was offered, a position as a legal secretary in Nationwide’s Trial Division Office in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. Barnes accepted the position and received a $2, 500 salary increase. She is currently employed by Nationwide in the Harleysville office.

The alleged discrimination occurred during the five years that Barnes worked in the Conshohocken office. Barnes’ direct supervisor at the Conshohocken office was Adrienne Oliphant, Business Legal Operations Supervisor. Defendant Victor M. Verbeke was the Managing Attorney of the Conshohocken office, and was responsible for monitoring and supervising the office. During her time at the Conshohocken office, Verbeke scrutinized and monitored several aspects of Barnes’ job performance.[2]

1) Verbeke Accessed Barnes’ Folder on the F-Drive

Every attorney and legal secretary in the Conshohocken office has access to the f-drive on Nationwide’s computer system. Within the f-drive, each individual has a folder with his/her name on it. Everyone has the ability to access each other’s individual folders. It was routine for legal secretaries to go into the individual files of the lawyers they supported in order to look at documents. On more than one occasion, Verbeke accessed Barnes’ folder on the f-drive and discovered that the folder contained personal documents, at least one of which used Nationwide’s letterhead. Verbeke twice reported Barnes’ storage of personal documents on the f-drive to Oliphant, Barnes’ direct supervisor, because employees are prohibited from keeping personal documents on the f-drive and using firm letterhead for personal business. No disciplinary action was taken against Barnes for violating Nationwide’s policies and the violations were not included in Barnes’ mid-year or yearly performance reviews. Barnes believes that Verbeke singled her out for scrutiny and did not go into the individual folders of other employees.

2) Verbeke Monitored and Listened to Barnes’ Phone Calls

Nationwide has a policy that employees should keep personal calls to a minimal. Verbeke monitored Barnes’ phone calls to make sure she was not making too many personal calls. On one occasion, when Barnes was speaking to a Human Resources representative, Verbeke repeatedly came over to Barnes’ desk to see how long she was on the phone. Verbeke also sent emails to Oliphant complaining about Barnes’ phone usage. No disciplinary action was taken against Barnes for her phone usage and excessive phone usage was never mentioned in Barnes’ mid-year or yearly performance reviews. Barnes believes that Verbeke targeted her for scrutiny because of her race.

3) Verbeke Complained about Barnes’ Workplace Errors

Verbeke also sent emails to Oliphant, and other employees, complaining about Barnes’ workplace errors. Over approximately five years, Verbeke sent nine emails regarding errors made by Barnes. Barnes never received any discipline for the alleged errors. Barnes believes that Verbeke targeted her for scrutiny because of her race.

4) Verbeke Recorded Barnes’ Arrival and Departure Times

Verbeke also monitored when Barnes arrived and departed work. On more than two occasions, Oliphant spoke to Barnes regarding Verbeke’s concerns about Barnes’ arrival and departure times from work. Over the course of five years, three emails were sent relating to Verbeke’s concerns about Barnes’ comings and goings while employed at the Conshohocken office. Barnes believes that Verbeke singled her out for scrutiny and did not monitor the arrival and departure times of her co-workers.

Oliphant believes that Verbeke deliberately attempted to find some evidence against Barnes that he could use as a pretense to terminate her. Additionally, Oliphant believes that there is a possibility that Verbeke singled Barnes out because of her race. However, despite Verbeke’s scrutiny of Barnes’ performance, Barnes was never terminated. In fact, Barnes received favorable evaluations, and appropriate raises and bonuses. Moreover, Barnes was never placed on a performance improvement plan, and ...

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